Fish and Wildlife Service delays decision on lesser prairie chicken

Mella McEwen

Published 2:36 pm, Friday, June 28, 2013

Efforts to craft a conservation plan in the five states that are home to the lesser prairie chicken have convinced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delay a decision on listing the species as threatened.

Fish and Wildlife Services Director Dan Ashe wrote to several senators, including John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, of Texas; Tom Udall, of New Mexico; Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, of Oklahoma; and Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, of Kansas, announcing a delay on a decision until March 30, 2014. The senators had asked Ashe for the delay.

Charna Lefton, spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Services, said the extension came in part because "several of the comments said we may not have the most recent science available."

When the announcement of the extension is published in the Federal Register, which is expected next week, it will also open an additional 30-day period for public comment, she said.

Lefton said she hopes comments will include current scientific data.

"We are pleased the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has granted a six-month extension. We hope they will use the time to approve the conservation agreements submitted by the five state wildlife agencies," said Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. "These agreements, along with the best available science, should help guide the service not to list the LPC as threatened."

In writing Ashe, Cornyn said, "The outcome of this listing proposal is vitally important to many sectors in the local economies of our states, including agriculture; oil and gas development; ranching; transportation; and wind energy."

"Listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the Endangered Species Act would negatively impact these sectors for many years to come. With this in mind, and knowing that conservation efforts are ongoing and that the science evaluating the status of the species is still developing, it is imperative to provide sufficient time to evaluate the true health of the species rather than simply hold fast to arbitrary court-mandated deadlines that do not account for ongoing species recovery developments," Cornyn wrote.

Ashe said the additional six months would give the service time to fully consider the comments received, along with implementation of the conservation plan being crafted by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which includes the agencies from the five states.

He said the agency strongly supports the efforts to develop a rangewide conservation plan and is working closely with the states to refine the plan.

"I believe the states and the WAFWA are working closely with the oil and gas and the ranching industry to address their concerns," Lefton said.

Ashe said the agency does not plan additional extensions beyond March 30.